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Troutbitten

Domenick Swentosky
Troutbitten
Latest episode

209 episodes

  • Troutbitten

    Fighting Big Fish #6 - The Last Ten Feet, and In the Net

    2026/08/30 | 51 mins.
    This podcast is all about the the end of the fight. Everything we’ve walked through in the previous episodes gets you to the point where the fish is within range and just about ready for the scoop. A lot can go wrong at the end of a fight, so there’s a lot that needs to be done right. We cover body, fish, net and rod positioning, all in relation to the river currents. We talk about when we get the net ready and what to do with it.  We cover trapping the line with your trigger finger and what to do with the reel's drag. We also talk about when to scoop, what to scoop and where to scoop -- as in, the landing zone. And we go over net preferences too.
    Perhaps most importantly, we talk about the concept of spreading your wings at the end -- where the rod hand goes back and the net had reaches out, so the fish’s head comes to the top of the water, and the trout glides into your waiting net.
    Perfect, right? Yeah, we also talk about less than idea situations and address some mishaps -- how to deal with things when it all starts to fall apart.
    My friends Matt Grobe and Bill Dell join me for a thorough breakdown of the last ten feet.
    Here's the Episode List for Season 20
    1. The Hook Set and What Comes First
    2. Where to Fight Them (Water Column and More)
    3. Fight Them Fast (You Pull or They Pull - Work With a Trout)
    4. The Fighting Position
    5. Side Pressure
    6. The Last Ten Feet (The Finishing Moves)
    7. Wrap Up (With Stories)
    Resources
    CATEGORY: Troutbitten | Catch and Release Safely
    CATEGORY | Troutbitten | Fighting Fish
    ARTICLE | Troutbitten | Fighting Fish -- The Last Ten Feet
    VIDEO | Troutbitten | The Casting, Drifting and Fighting Position - It's All the Same
    PODCAST: Troutbitten | How to Handle a Trout
    ARTICLE: Troutbitten | Are We Taking the Safety of Trout Too Far?
    READ: Troutbitten | Work With a Trout and Not Against It
    ARTICLE: Troutbitten | Fight Fish Fast
    Visit

    Troutbitten Website

    Troutbitten Instagram

    Troutbitten YouTube

    Troutbitten Facebook
  • Troutbitten

    Fighting Big Fish #5 - Side Pressure!

    2026/08/23 | 57 mins.
    Side pressure puts real leverage on a fish. It's where control begins and power originates. All the other skills before this one set us up to maximize side pressure, with the right angles and a great plan for landing the trout of a lifetime.
    I think the opposite of side pressure is upward pressure, or pulling up with the rod tip, and we don't want to fight the fish at the surface. So while side pressure can keep the fish lower in the water column, upward pressure brings a trout to the top, often way too soon.
    So with a low rod angle, pulling to the side as much as possible, we force the trout to fight not just the current pushing downstream in its face, but also our constant pressure to the side. A trout wants to hold the current that it’s in, and by pulling sideways, the trout has to work against that pressure to stay in its current. And nothing wears a trout down quicker.
    My friends Matt Grobe and Bill Dell join me for a deep dive into real side pressure.
    Here's the Episode List for Season 20
    1. The Hook Set and What Comes First
    2. Where to Fight Them (Water Column and More)
    3. Fight Them Fast (You Pull or They Pull - Work With a Trout)
    4. The Fighting Position
    5. Side Pressure
    6. The Last Ten Feet (The Finishing Moves)
    7. Wrap Up (With Stories)
    Resources
    CATEGORY: Troutbitten | Catch and Release Safely
    CATEGORY | Troutbitten | Fighting Fish
    ARTICLE | Troutbitten | Side Pressure - What It Is and How to Use It
    VIDEO | Troutbitten | The Casting, Drifting and Fighting Position - It's All the Same
    PODCAST: Troutbitten | How to Handle a Trout
    ARTICLE: Troutbitten | Are We Taking the Safety of Trout Too Far?
    READ: Troutbitten | Work With a Trout and Not Against It
    ARTICLE: Troutbitten | Fight Fish Fast
    Visit

    Troutbitten Website

    Troutbitten Instagram

    Troutbitten YouTube

    Troutbitten Facebook
  • Troutbitten

    Fighting Big Fish #4 -- Planning, Positioning and The Fighting Stance

    2026/08/16 | 38 mins.
    Landing a good trout is more about planning, quick thinking and good technique than luck. And in this episode, we talk about being ready for a big fish. With a little forethought and preparation, with even slight adjustments to body positioning, we put ourselves in the best position to show a picture of a lifetime rather than tell the story of another trout that got away.
    A few months ago I published a video to the Troutbitten YouTube channel with the title: The Casting, Drifting and Fighting Position — It’s all the Same. What we talk about in this episode, very much mirrors that last part of that video.
    We Cover These Key Concepts
    -- The Fighting stance (a Galloup idea)
    — It’s an athletic position, centered, balanced and strong
    — Uses large muscle groups. compact and not extended
    — Ready to move and adjust
    — We’re also ready for the hook set from here
    — The “Orvis” pose
    -- Arm slot
    -- Position in the river
    — Where we put our body determines the kind of pressure we can put on the trout
    — Our job is to guide the trout into the places we want it to be.
    — Don’t be along for the ride. Be in control
    Here's the Episode List for Season 20
    1. The Hookset and What Comes First
    2. Where to Fight Them (Water Column and More)
    3. Fight Them Fast (You Pull or They Pull - Work With a Trout)
    4. The Fighting Position
    5. Side Pressure
    6. The Last Ten Feet (The Finishing Moves)
    7. Wrap Up (With Stories)
    My good friends, Matt Grobe and Bill Dell join me for this season.
    Resources
    CATEGORY: Troutbitten | Catch and Release Safely
    CATEGORY | Troutbitten | Fighting Fish
    VIDEO | Troutbitten | The Casting, Drifting and Fighting Position - It's All the Same
    PODCAST: Troutbitten | How to Handle a Trout
    ARTICLE: Troutbitten | Are We Taking the Safety of Trout Too Far?
    READ: Troutbitten | Work With a Trout and Not Against It
    ARTICLE: Troutbitten | Fight Fish Fast

    Visit

    Troutbitten Website

    Troutbitten Instagram

    Troutbitten YouTube

    Troutbitten Facebook

    Thanks to TroutRoutes:
    Use the code TROUTBITTEN for 20% off your membership at
    https://maps.troutroutes.com 
    Thanks to Skwala
    Use the code, TROUTBITTEN10 for 10% off your order at
    https://skwalafishing.com/
  • Troutbitten

    Fighting Big Fish #3 -- Fighting Them Fast, The Tug-of-War and Knowing the Strength of Your Tools

    2026/08/09 | 50 mins.
    This third part of our Troutbitten Skills Series is all about the guiding principle of fighting fish fast. We talk about how this mindset guides our decisions and our movements for all the other skills. Because we want to fight trout fast we use side pressure and we position ourselves for maximum leverage. We thing about current direction and fighting zones, all in an effort to fight a trout fast. Because the longer a trout is on the line, the more chance it has to get off.
    We also cover these key concepts:
    -- The tug-of-war. Either they pull or you pull.
    -- How the stalemate becomes a mistake.
    -- Knowing the strength of your tools.
    -- Understand the power in the rod and the line.
    -- How fast is too fast, and when to ease up on the pressure.
    -- Utilizing drag settings
    Here's the Episode List for Season 20
    1. The Hookset and What Comes First
    2. Where to Fight Them (Water Column and More)
    3. Fight Them Fast (You Pull or They Pull - Work With a Trout)
    4. The Fighting Position
    5. Side Pressure
    6. The Last Ten Feet (The Finishing Moves)
    7. Wrap Up (With Stories)
    My good friends, Matt Grobe and Bill Dell join me for this season.
    Resources
    CATEGORY: Troutbitten | Catch and Release Safely
    CATEGORY | Troutbitten | Fighting Fish
    PODCAST: Troutbitten | How to Handle a Trout
    ARTICLE: Troutbitten | Are We Taking the Safety of Trout Too Far?
    READ: Troutbitten | Work With a Trout and Not Against It
    ARTICLE: Troutbitten | Fight Fish Fast

    Visit

    Troutbitten Website

    Troutbitten Instagram

    Troutbitten YouTube

    Troutbitten Facebook

    Thanks to TroutRoutes:
    Use the code TROUTBITTEN for 20% off your membership at
    https://maps.troutroutes.com 
    Thanks to Skwala
    Use the code, TROUTBITTEN10 for 10% off your order at
    https://skwalafishing.com/
  • Troutbitten

    Fighting Big Fish #2 - Where to Fight Them

    2026/08/02 | 49 mins.
    Fighting trout in a river, creek or stream is all about the currents. So for this episode of our seven part skills series on fighting big fish, we talk about fighting fish upstream, downstream or across. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each angle? And what about current depth? Should we aim to fight the fish in the lower, middle or top part of the water column? And finally, we talk about the fighting zones in a river, meaning, what types of water are a safe choice for fighting the biggest trout of your life?
    We also go through a little more on the hooksets from last week, and we briefly discuss how much of this applies to the stillwater game and to other species.
    Here's the Episode List for Season 20
    1. The Hookset and What Comes First
    2. Where to Fight Them (Water Column and More)
    3. Fight Them Fast (You Pull or They Pull - Work With a Trout)
    4. The Fighting Position
    5. Side Pressure
    6. The Last Ten Feet (The Finishing Moves)
    7. Wrap Up (With Stories)
    My good friends, Matt Grobe and Bill Dell join me for this season.
    Resources
    CATEGORY: Troutbitten | Catch and Release Safely
    CATEGORY | Troutbitten | Fighting Fish
    PODCAST: Troutbitten | How to Handle a Trout
    ARTICLE: Troutbitten | Are We Taking the Safety of Trout Too Far?
    READ: Troutbitten | Work With a Trout and Not Against It
    ARTICLE: Troutbitten | Fight Fish Fast

    Visit

    Troutbitten Website

    Troutbitten Instagram

    Troutbitten YouTube

    Troutbitten Facebook

    Thanks to TroutRoutes:
    Use the code TROUTBITTEN for 20% off your membership at
    https://maps.troutroutes.com 
    Thanks to Skwala
    Use the code, TROUTBITTEN10 for 10% off your order at
    https://skwalafishing.com/
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About Troutbitten
Life on the water. Troutbitten is a deep dive into fly fishing for wild trout in wild places. Author and guide, Domenick Swentosky, shares stories, tips, tactics and conversations with friends about fly fishing through the woods and water. Explore more. Fish hard. And discover fly fishing at Troutbitten.com — an extensive resource with 1500+ articles about trout, friends, family and the river.
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